Game projectile having adjustable ailerons



'Aug. 9, 1966 B. MCCREARY, JR 3,264,777

GAME PROJECTILE HAVING ADJUSTABLE AILERONS Filed D60. 9, 1964 INVENTOR ATTORNEY)? United States Patent 3,264,777 GAME PROJECTILE HAVING ADJUSTABLE AILERONS Bernie F. McCreary, Jr., Houston, Tern, assignor of twenty percent to Leighton Stallones, twenty percent to James T. Radford, twenty percent to Edward A. Gibbons, and twenty percent to Wesley C. Gustafson, all of Houston,

Tex.

Filed Dec. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 417,060 1 Claim. (Cl. 46--81) This invention relates to amusement devices and more particularly to a game device comprising a projectile projected from a rod with means to sustain its flight.

Heretofore the prior art has disclosed means of projecting balls from a rod by the use of centrifugal force, such as disclosed in the patents to Waller, 2,902,023, granted September 1, 1959, and 2,705,148, granted March 29, 1955. In such devices the projectile is maintained in the air for a period of time directly proportional to the strength of the thrower. This invention, however, relates to a means for sustaining the flight of the projectile through the use of wings and a stabilizing tail fin.

Broadly, therefore, the object of this invention is to provide an improvement in game projectiles of the type adapted to be slidably mounted on an elongated rod for projection therefrom which improvement comprises attaching wing means to the opposite sides of the projectile and attaching a tail fin means to the projectile for maintaining stability thereof during flight. It will be seen that the wing means and tail fin means sustain the flight of the projectile when projected from the rod.

It is also an object of this invention to broadly provide a game device comprising a rod, an elongated fuselage having an opening extending longitudinally therethrough so that the fuselage can be slidably mounted on the rod with the fuselage having laterally projecting wings and a tail fin attached thereto, and means to project the fuselage from the rod rapidly whereby the wings and tail fin will sustain the flight.

It will be seen that the use of the rod which preferably is moved in 'awhip-like overhand arcuate motion for projecting the fuselage from the rod by means of centrifugal force gives the fuselage a much higher initial velocity and hence a much longer range than can be achieved by manually thrown fuselages or planes. In fact, the fuselage has been thrown and remained in the air for as far as 80 yards with the usual light being 40 yards, depending of course upon the air currents.

It will be seen, therefore, that this amusement device has great appeal in that it cannot only be flown in competition with other people, but also it can serve as a great challenge for the thrower alone in experimenting with wind currents.

It is also an object of this invention to provide adjustable flaps secured to the trailing edge of the wing so that an additional challenge is included by establishing the correct adjustment of the flaps for a long sustained flight. Such flaps, it will be appreciated, adjust the flight characteristics of the fuselage, such as the upward and downward direction of the initial part of the flight.

Furthermore, it is an object of this invention to provide a game plane adapted to be slidably mounted on an elongated rod for projection therefrom comprising an elongated fuselage having an opening extending longitudinally therethrough so that fuselage can be slidably mounted on the rod, wing means attached to the fuselage and projecting laterally on opposite sides thereof, and a tail fin means attached to the fuselage and projecting upwardly therefrom so as to maintain stability of the plane during flight. Accordingly, both the wing means and the tail fin means sustain the flight of the game plane when projected from the rod.

Patented August 9, 1966 "ice These and other objects of this invention are more clearly depicted in the following detailed description having specific reference to the attached drawings in which the embodiments of the invention are shown, not to limit the scope of the invention in any respect but so that the principles thereof might be more clearly demonstrated.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the game device in use; and

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the game device.

FIGURE 1 shows the game device in use wherein the thrower 10 causes the projectile 12 to be centrifugally thrown from a rod 14 in a sustained flight by means of a rapid arcuate movement of a first end 16 of the rod 14. While the rod is moved preferably by an overhand motion, it will be appreciated that a sidearm motion could be used so long as suflicient centrifugal force is created to cause the projectile to be projected from the rod.

' FIGURE 2 shows in greater detail the means by which the flight is sustained after projection of the projectile 12 from the rod 14. More specifically, the projectile 12 preferably comprises an elongated fuselage 18 having means 19 secured thereto for sustaining the flight of the fuselage. As illustrated, the means 19 comprises a pair of wings 20 attached to the fuselage and projecting laterally on opposite sides 21 thereof. While the wings provide lift to the projectile during its flight, it is also preferable to have a tail fin 22 attached to the rear end 23 of the fuselage 18 for giving the fuselage stability during the flight. As illustrated the tail fin 22 extends upwardly in a plane perpendicular to the laterally projecting wings 20. It will be appreciated, however, that the tail fin may be modified within accepted aerodynamic principles for establishing stability, such as a V-shaped tail fin.

The elongated fuselage has an opening 24 extending longitudinally therethrough so that it may be slidably mounted on the rod 14. It will be appreciated that in order to be slidably mounted on the rod 14 the opening 24 must have a cross-sectional area slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of the rod 14 and preferably of the same configuration. While the configuration of the rod and opening are illustrated as being annular, it will be appreciated that other configurations may be used within the scope of the invention. Consequently, once the rod is held in a position so that the wings are approximately equally disposed from the ground, the subsequent projection of the fuselage without any tendency to rotate will assure the achievement of an initially level flight.

It is further within the scope of this invention to include ailerons or flaps 26 which are preferably attached to the rear or trailing edge 28 of the wings 20. These ailerons are preferably adjustable so that they can control the flight characteristics of the fuselage. Thus, the ailerons may project above or below the wing to give an upward or downward directional tendency, respectively, 'or the ailerons may be positioned in the same plane as the wings so that, if desired, the flight characteristics of the fuselage will not be affected beyond a minimal amount due to the increase in lifting surface area. The ailerons in an operative model comprises paper having glue on one side thereof which is doubled over to provide more stiffness. The free edges 29 of the paper are separated so as to fit on opposite sides of the trailing edge 28 of the wings. Likewise, it will be appreciated that such flaps could also be attached to the rear edge 30 of the tail fin so that the fuselage could be turned during its flight.

The rod means 14 preferably has a handle 32 secured on the second end 34 of the rod so that a good grip may be obtained for moving the rod rapidly. As described above, the rapid movement of the first end 16 of the rod 14 causes the fuselage to be centrifugally projected therefrom in a flight which is sustained by the wings and the The game plane is preferably made out of a foam plastic such as polystyrene. It Will be appreciated that the foam plastic must have sufiicient rigidity so as to withstand the shock of impact. Furthermore, the density of the pro jectile must be such that the projectile possesses-the required inertia for projection from the throwing rod and yet is suificiently light to be carried by wind currents.

While the: invention has been described and illustrated by use of a plane, it Will ibe appreciated that the principles of this invention could be applied .to any type of projectile slidably mounted on a rod and projected therefrom to which Wings and a tail fin couldbe attached in order to sustain the flight thereof. 7 While a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated in the drawings and discussed above, it should be adequately clear that considerable modification may. be made thereto without departing from the, principles of the invention. Therefore, the foregoing should be considered.

in an illustrative sense rather .than a limiting one, and

accordingly the extent of this invention should be limited,

be mounted on a rodfthe fuselage. having integral a foamed plastic wings projecting laterally on opposite sides thereof and an :integral foamed plastic tail fin and adjustable paper ailerons attachedto the ;rear edge of:

the Wings, each of the ailerons comprising an. elongated piece of :paper having, glue on one side thereof,

the glued side being laterally doubled overand stuck to itself so as to provide stiffness, the free edges of the paper being separated so as to receive the rear edge of the Wing therebetween and being glued thereto.

1,018,787. 10/1952 France.

OTHER REFERENCES Pelaspan; Expandable Polystyrene,.. Dow Chemical.

Company Catalog 171-90, February 1958, pp. 31 and 32'.

RICHARD C. V PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. LOUIS I. BOVASSOfAssistant Examiner. 

